1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices for restraining trauma victims, and more particularly to such devices which provide foot support and vertical stability where the trauma involves spinal injury.
2. Description Relative to the Prior Art
Spine board, or backboards, are commonly used by rescue personnel to restrain and carry victims of spinal and trauma. When such spinal injury occurs, is important that the victim be immobilized for transport to a treatment center, so that the victim does not suffer further injury during movement and transportation to the treatment center. This is especially important in cases of injuries to the cervical area, where relatively small movements of the head may result in permanent injury to the spinal column.
In many instances the approved procedure involving patients encountered standing at the scene of an accident is to fit the victim with a cervical collar, and secure the victim at the head, pelvis, and feet to the spine board while till in the standing position. The victim may then be put into a horizontal position.
In other cases the victim may be encountered at the accident scene in a horizontal position. The victim must be first have the cervical collar attached, and then be slid onto the spine board, being finally strapped down.
The most commonly-used spine board, as shown in FIG. 1, is a flat piece of plywood or plastic 2, an inch or two in cross-section, with hand-holes 4 located along the sides, and with restraining straps 6 provided for restraint.
A common problem in the use of such a board, however, is the lack of restraint in the vertical, or major body axis, direction. When the victim is placed on the board standing up, it is critical than he not slide, relative to the spine board, when the board is tilted onto a vertical orientation.
Even after the victim is placed in a horizontal position, he is often not carried in a such a strictly horizontal position. It is often necessary to tilt the spine board, even sometimes into the vertical position. Furthermore, acceleration or deceleration in the ambulance, or other rescue vehicle, can exert vertical forces on the victim. Under such circumstances the victim may tend to slide vertically with respect to the spine board, thus defeating the purpose of the other restraints.
Attempts have been made to remedy this situation by providing a foot rest at one end of the spine board. A number of inventions have described folding brackets attached to the spine board, which can be folded up after the victim is on the spine board. These folding foot rests suffer from the problem that they prevent sliding of the victim along the length of the spine board, since they project off the surface.
Other attempts have been made to offer a removable foot rest which may be attached after the victim is on the spine board. In particular, the inventions of Ferreira, U.S. Pat. No. 5,201,089, and Hein, U.S. Pat. No. 4,369,982, describe such removable foot rests.
The present invention is an improvement over such prior-art removable foot rests, as it is inexpensive, simple to use, and may be tethered to the spine board so that it is not lost or misplaced when needed.